U.S. patent application number 10/926073 was filed with the patent office on 2005-05-19 for low crosstalk modular communication connector.
This patent application is currently assigned to Panduit Corp.. Invention is credited to Doorhy, Michael, Stroede, Andrew J., Vanderhoof, Russell A..
Application Number | 20050106946 10/926073 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32232955 |
Filed Date | 2005-05-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050106946 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Doorhy, Michael ; et
al. |
May 19, 2005 |
LOW CROSSTALK MODULAR COMMUNICATION CONNECTOR
Abstract
A modular communications connector includes a housing defining a
plug receiving opening, a conductor carrying sled including a
printed circuit board designed in conjunction with the conductors
to improve crosstalk performance. The connector includes a wire
containment fixture arrangement allows for simplified field
termination of the modular connector. The connector is assembled by
loading the contacts and printed circuit board onto the sled, which
is snap fit into the housing. Then, wires are positioned through
the wire containment fixture and the fixture is slidably engaged
with the sled at a first position and slid along the sled to a
second position where the wires are terminated with IDCs mounted on
the sled. The connector preferably includes first and second
pluralities of conductors, with the second plurality each having
IDC portions arranged in first and second rows of four IDCs. The
top and bottom IDC portion at each end of the rows terminates an
associated wire pair and the two internal IDC portions of each row
terminates an associated wire pair. The connector also preferably
includes a printed circuit board that is engageable with both the
first and second plurality of conductors. The printed circuit board
has at least three layers, with a pair of outer layers containing
traces that complete an electrical path between the IDCs of the
second plurality of conductors and a corresponding first end
portion of the first plurality of conductors. One or more
capacitors are provided on an inner layer of the printed circuit
board.
Inventors: |
Doorhy, Michael; (Mokena,
IL) ; Stroede, Andrew J.; (Mokena, IL) ;
Vanderhoof, Russell A.; (Minooka, IL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
OLIFF & BERRIDGE, PLC
P.O. BOX 19928
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22320
US
|
Assignee: |
Panduit Corp.
Tinley Park
IL
|
Family ID: |
32232955 |
Appl. No.: |
10/926073 |
Filed: |
August 26, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10926073 |
Aug 26, 2004 |
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10680218 |
Oct 8, 2003 |
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6799989 |
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10680218 |
Oct 8, 2003 |
|
|
|
10215087 |
Aug 9, 2002 |
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RE38519 |
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10215087 |
Aug 9, 2002 |
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09138969 |
Aug 24, 1998 |
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6371793 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
439/676 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01R 12/585 20130101;
Y10S 439/941 20130101; H01R 4/242 20130101; H01R 13/6466 20130101;
H01R 24/64 20130101; H01R 13/506 20130101; H01R 4/2433 20130101;
H01R 13/6625 20130101; H01R 13/6473 20130101; H01R 13/6658
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
439/676 |
International
Class: |
H01R 011/20 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An electrical connector for use with one of a plug and a jack as
well as a cable that includes a cable jacket that covers a first
portion of multiple pairs of wires, a second portion of the
multiple pairs of wires extending beyond the cable jacket, the
first portion and the second portion meeting at a junction, the
electrical connector comprising: a housing assembly that is
engageable with the one of the plug and the jack, the housing
assembly including a plurality of connectors that each include an
IDC portion; and a wire containment fixture defining an opening
that includes an entry end that receives the cable and an exit end,
the wire containment fixture further defining a plurality of wire
slots adjacent to the exit end of the opening, each of the wire
slots being configured to enable one wire of the second portion of
one of the multiple pairs of wires to terminate therein, the
opening being convergent in a direction from the entry end to the
exit end, the opening also being configured to enable the second
portion of each of the multiple pairs of wires to extend from the
junction toward the exit end and to bend in a direction
substantially normal to an axis of the opening to terminate in the
respective wire slots, the wire containment fixture being
engageable with the housing assembly such that the IDC portion of
each of the plurality of connectors electrically engages one of the
wires terminated in one of the plurality of wire slots.
2. The electrical connector according to claim 1, the exit end of
the opening having a greater dimension in a first plane than in a
second plane which is perpendicular to the first plane.
3. The electrical connector according to claim 2, the entry end of
the opening of the wire containment fixture having a greater
dimension in a third plane than in a fourth plane which is
perpendicular to the third plane.
4. The electrical connector according to claim 1, the exit end of
the opening of the wire containment fixture being substantially
rectangular.
5. The electrical connector according to claim 1, the entry end of
the opening of the wire containment fixture being substantially
rectangular.
6. The electrical connector according to claim 1, the opening of
the wire containment fixture being defined in part by a pair of
substantially planar interior walls.
7. The electrical connector according to claim 6, each wire slot
being elongated and extending in a direction that is perpendicular
to one of the substantially planar interior walls.
8. The electrical connector according to claim 1, the wire
containment fixture defining a pair of substantially planar
exterior walls.
9. The electrical connector according to claim 8, each wire slot
being elongated and extending in a direction that is perpendicular
to one of the substantially planar exterior walls.
10. The electrical connector according to claim 1, the wire
containment fixture defining planar exterior walls defining the
exit end of the plurality of wire slots, said planar exterior walls
being configured with no protrusions to facilitate removal of
excess wire extending from the exit end of the wire slots.
11. The electrical connector according to claim 8, one of the
planar exterior walls defining exit ends of four wire slots of the
plurality of wire slots with no protrusions in the exterior wall
between the wire slots.
12. The electrical connector according to claim 1, at least a
portion of the entry end of the opening of the wire containment
fixture being arcuate to facilitate insertion of the first portion
of the cable.
13. The electrical connector according to claim 2, the wire slots
being elongated and extending in a direction that is perpendicular
to the first plane.
14. The electrical connector according to claim 1, the wire slots
being contiguous with the opening of the wire containment
fixture.
15. The electrical connector according to claim 1, an axis of each
of the wire slots being normal to an axis of the opening of the
wire containment fixture.
16. The electrical connector according to claim 1, the wire
containment fixture being configured to enable the second portion
of each of the multiple pairs of wires of the cable to be
terminated so as to enhance cable strain relief.
17. The electrical connector according to claim 1, the wire
containment fixture and the housing assembly being engageable with
each other by moving one of the wire containment fixture and the
housing assembly in a direction toward the other of the wire
containment fixture and the housing assembly that is substantially
parallel to the axis of the opening.
18. The electrical connector according to claim 1, the one of the
plug and the jack being engageable with the housing assembly by
moving the one of the plug and the jack in a direction toward the
housing assembly that is substantially parallel to the axis of the
opening.
19. The electrical connector according to claim 1, two wire slots
of the plurality of wire slots being configured such that one pair
of wires of the multiple pairs of wires that terminate therein are
of a substantially equal length.
20. The electrical connector according to claim 1, two wire slots
of the plurality of wire slots being configured such that distances
between the respective bends of one pair of wires of the multiple
pairs of wires that terminate therein and a portion of the one pair
of wires terminated in the two wire slots that engages the IDC
portions are equal.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This is a Continuation of Application No. 10/680,218 filed
Oct. 8, 2003, which in turn is a Continuation of Application No.
10/215,087 filed Aug. 9, 2002, which in turn is a Reissue of U.S.
Pat. No. 6,371,793 B1 issued Apr. 16, 2002 (Application No.
09/138,969 filed Aug. 24, 1998). The entire disclosure of the prior
applications is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its
entirety.
1. Field of Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to modular communication
connectors and more particularly to a modular communication
connector that utilizes a printed circuit board design and
conductor arrangement to provide for improved crosstalk performance
and also provides for simplified wire termination.
2. Description of Related Art
[0003] Standard telephone jack connectors and other modular
connectors of generally similar design are well known in the
communications industry. However, along with the constantly
increasing signal transmission rates exists the need for modular
communication connectors to have improved crosstalk performance. It
is also important for these connectors to continue to have simple
field termination capability. Thus, increasing performance
requirements for communication connectors establish a need in the
art of modular communication connectors to be economically
manufactured which can be easily field terminated and that will
achieve higher levels of suppressing crosstalk interference.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] It is an object of the present invention to provide a
modular communication connector with improved crosstalk
performance.
[0005] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
modular communication connector with simplified field
terminability.
[0006] In general, a modular communications connector, includes a
housing defining a plug receiving opening, a conductor carrying
sled supporting a plurality of conductors each including an
insulation displacement contact (IDC) portion disposed extending
rearwardly in a direction generally parallel to an axis of entry of
the plug receiving opening; and a wire containment fixture having
means for positioning wires with respect to the IDC portions, said
fixture being engageable to and slidably movable along a portion of
the conductor carrying sled. The connector also utilizes a printed
circuit board design incorporating capacitors which in conjunction
with the conductor design improves the overall crosstalk
performance. The IDC portions of the conductors are arranged in
upper and lower rows of four IDC portions each such that the top
and bottom IDC portion at each end of the rows terminates a wire
pair and the two internal IDC portions of each row terminates a
wire pair and the printed circuit board includes at least three
layers with the outer layers containing a plurality of traces for
interconnecting the first and second plurality of conductors, and
formed on an inner layer of the PCB for affecting the crosstalk
performance of the connector.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a free standing
modular communication connector embodying the concept of the
present invention;
[0008] FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the connector of FIG.
1;
[0009] FIG. 3 is a rear perspective exploded view of the connector
of FIG. 1;
[0010] FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective exploded view of the
connector of FIG. 1;
[0011] FIG. 5 is a subassembly view of the connector of FIG. 1
showing the sled prior to engagement with the housing;
[0012] FIG. 6 is a subassembly view of the connector of FIG. 1
shown prior to termination by the wire containment fixture;
[0013] FIG. 7 is a top view of the connector of FIG. 1 shown prior
to termination by the wire containment fixture;
[0014] FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8--8 of FIG.
7;
[0015] FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9--9 of FIG.
7;
[0016] FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along lines 10--10 of FIG.
7;
[0017] FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along lines 11--11 of FIG.
9;
[0018] FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the twisted wire pairs
shown without the wire containment fixture and the contact
arrangement of the PCB shown without the housing, sled and IDC
block;
[0019] FIG. 13 is a plan view of the top layer of the circuit
board;
[0020] FIG. 14 is a plan view of the second layer which is
identical to the third layer of the printed circuit board;
[0021] FIG. 15 is a plan view of the bottom layer of the printed
circuit board;
[0022] FIG. 16 is a plan view of the PCB with portions broken away
to see the lower layers; and
[0023] FIG. 17 is a sectional view of the printed circuit board
taken along lines 17--17 of FIG. 16.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0024] A modular communication connector embodying the concept of
the present invention is designated generally by the reference
numeral 10 in the accompanying drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,
connector 10 includes a housing 12 defining a plug receiving
opening 14, a conductor carrying sled 30 and a wire containment
fixture 20 for terminating a communication cable 70 having a
plurality of individual communication wires 28.
[0025] As can be seen in FIGS.3-6, connector 10 includes a
conductor carrying sled 30 that supports a printed circuit board
(PCB) 50 and a first and second plurality of conductors. The first
plurality of conductors 32 each have a resilient contact portion 34
at a first end which is to be disposed within the plug receiving
opening in accordance with a standard telephone plug mating
configuration. The standards for the connector interface provides
for eight laterally spaced conductors numbered 1-8, wherein the
conductor pairs are defined by the associated wire pairs in
accordance with the standard. Specifically, the standard pair
arrangement provides for wires 4 and 5 comprising pair 1, wires 3
and 6 comprising pair 2, wires 1 and 2 comprising pair 3, and wires
7 and 8 comprising pair 4. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 12, each of the
conductors 32 also includes a compliant pin at the second end so
that the conductors 32 can be secured to the PCB 50 without
requiring soldering.
[0026] The second plurality of conductors 36 each includes a
compliant pin at one end for engagement with the PCB 50 and an IDC
portion 38 at the second end. The second plurality of conductors 36
are configured such that the IDC portions 38 are disposed extending
rearwardly in a direction generally parallel to an axis of entry of
the plug receiving opening 14. The axis of entry is the generally
horizontal direction in which a standard telephone plug type
connector would be inserted in order to mate with the resilient
contacts of the connector. The second plurality of conductors are
initially loaded into an IDC block 42 which is used to aid in the
manufacturing and assembly process. The IDC block 42 has locating
pockets and a peg for accurate positioning on the sled 30. After
assembling the PCB 50 and conductors 32, 36 in position on sled 30,
the sled is inserted into the rear end of the housing such that
resilient contact portions 34 of the first plurality of conductors
32 are disposed within the plug receiving opening 14 of housing 12
and the IDC portions 38 extend horizontally away from the back end
in position for termination of the individual wires 28 as shown in
FIG. 6. Latches on the housing secure the sled in position.
[0027] As can be seen in FIGS. 3, 4, 6 and 8, the wire containment
fixture 20 has a cable opening 26 that allows both flat and round
cable to be loaded into the wire containment fixture. The front end
of wire containment fixture 20 includes eight individual vertically
aligned wire slots 22. Thus as the twisted pair conductors of the
cable are brought through the opening, the individual wires can be
routed into their respective wire slots 22. A label indicating the
wiring scheme can be placed on the wire containment fixture 20 for
providing the user instructions. Engagement walls 24 including
guide slots 25 are provided on fixture 20 beneath the wire slots 22
and are formed to engage with a pair of guide rails 40 disposed on
each lateral edge of the rearward end of sled 30 to allow for
sliding movement of fixture 20 along sled 30 and to provide for
proper wire location during termination.
[0028] In general, in communications connectors, some crosstalk
effect is occurring at every portion along adjacent conductors of
the connector. That is, crosstalk occurs between adjacent
conductors at the resilient contact portions of the plug mating
end, between adjacent contacts on the PCB, as well as between
adjacent IDC portions. It is in the preferred embodiment shown that
the overall crosstalk performance of the connector is enhanced
through a combination of minimizing crosstalk interaction between
adjacent conductors where possible and utilizing capacitors on a
unique PCB design to balance the overall crosstalk effect.
[0029] As can be seen in FIGS. 13-16, the printed circuit board 50
is a four layer board with a plurality of through holes formed
through all four layers, each of which corresponds respectively
with one of the compliant pin ends of one of the first or second
plurality of conductors 32, 36. The top 52 and bottom 56 outer
layers contain the traces 58 for interconnecting the first and
second plurality of conductors 32, 36 via their respective
conductive through holes. The two inner layers 54 are identical to
each other and is shown only once in FIG. 14. Seven of the ten
capacitors 60 which are utilized in the proposed design for
crosstalk reduction are housed in the middle two layers 54. The
outer layers 52, 56 also include three capacitors 60 which in the
preferred design were not placed in the middle layers 54 due to
space and capacitor layout constraints.
[0030] As can be seen, the conductor traces 58 within a pair are of
relatively the same length and run nearby each other to obtain a
proper impedance for return/loss performance and to reduce possible
far end crosstalk (FEXT) effect. It is to be noted that the
thickness of the traces can also be adjusted to achieve the
required impedance. Additionally, certain contact pairs have the
traces 58 run on opposite sides of the board to minimize is near
end crosstalk (NEXT) in that area. For example, traces 4 and 5, and
7 and 8 for pairs 1 and 4 respectively are disposed on the bottom
board, whereas traces 3 and 6, and 1 and 2 for pairs 2 and 3
respectively are disposed on the top board.
[0031] Capacitance is added to the PCB in order to compensate for
the crosstalk which occurs between adjacent conductors of different
pairs throughout the connector arrangement. The capacitance can be
added in several ways. The capacitance can be added as chips to the
board or can be integrated into the board using pads or finger
capacitors.
[0032] In the preferred embodiment shown, capacitors are added in
the form of finger or interdigitated capacitors connected to
conductor pairs. The capacitors are identified by the conductor to
which they are connected and to which capacitance is added to
balance the crosstalk effect seen by the other conductor of a pair.
For example, C46 identifies the finger capacitor connected to
conductors 4 and 6 to balance the crosstalk seen between conductors
4 and 6 with the crosstalk seen between conductors 5 and 6
throughout the connector.
[0033] As can best be seen in FIG. 12, the IDC portions 38 for
terminating pairs of wires of the communication cable are arranged
in two rows of four IDC portions. The contacts are configured such
that the top and bottom IDC portion at each end of the rows
terminates a wire pair and the two internal IDC portions of each
row terminate a wire pair. Specifically, as previously discussed
the standard pair arrangement is wires 4 and 5 are pair 1, wires 3
and 6 are pair 2, wires 1 and 2 are pair 3 and wires 7 and 8 are
pair 4. The standard in the industry sets forth that the odd wires
are the tip and the even wires are the ring of the pair. As best
seen in FIG. 12, pair 3 comprising contacts 1 and 2 and pair 4
comprising contacts 7 and 8 are disposed respectively at the left
and right ends of the two rows of IDC portions. Pair 2 comprising
contacts 3 and 6 is disposed on the upper row at the two internal
IDC portions and pair 1 comprising contacts 4 and 5 is disposed in
the bottom row within the two inner IDC portions. This specific IDC
arrangement improves crosstalk performance by minimizing any
additional undesired crosstalk while helping to balance existing
crosstalk effects found in the standard plug and jack contact
arrangement. Furthermore, this IDC layout allows for pairs to
remain twisted as close to the IDC's as possible which helps
decrease the crosstalk needed to be balanced in the connector.
Thus, the IDC arrangement allows for a simplified PCB capacitor
design.
[0034] In the field, the preassembled housing 12 and sled 30
containing the printed circuit board 50, first plurality of
contacts 32, second plurality of contacts 36 and IDC block 42 is
provided such that the plug mating resilient contact portions 34
are disposed within the plug receiving opening 14 and the IDC
portions 38 are horizontally disposed for accepting the individual
wires 28. The communication cable 70 is inserted into the opening
26 of the wire containment fixture 20, the individual wires 28 are
inserted into the respective wire slots 22 and the excess wire cut
off. Finally, the wire containment 20 having the engagement walls
24 with guide slots 25 is assembled onto sled 30 via the guide
rails 40 and slid forward until proper termination is achieved and
locked in position by a cantilevered snap latch.
[0035] While the particular preferred embodiments of the present
invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to
those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made
without departing from the teachings of our invention. The matter
set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is
offered by way of illustration only and not as a limitation. The
actual scope of the invention is intended to be defined in the
following claims when viewed in their proper perspective based on
the prior art.
* * * * *